PLANS TO DISMANTLE OCEAN MONITORING SYSTEM ABANDONED AFTER GREAT BACKLASH

FIRST CAME THIS NEWS : PBS TRUMP ADMINSTRATION DISMANTLES OCEAN MONITORING PROGRAM

Excerpt: Scientists across the country are expressing alarm as the Trump administration dismantles another tool for understanding how the planet is changing. More than 900 deep-sea ocean sensors will be pulled out of the Pacific and Atlantic oceans near Washington, Oregon, Alaska, North Carolina and Greenland. Researchers say these are critical ocean observation tools. William Brangham explains...

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THEN THIS : SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN : TRUMP ADMINISTRATION REVERSES COURSE ON PLAN TO DISMANTLE OCEAN MONITORING SYSTEM

Excerpt: The Trump administration is backing off plans to dismantle a crucial U.S. ocean monitoring system, the National Science Foundation (NSF) confirmed on Thursday. The reversal comes after the agency’s May 21 announcement of its intent to remove hundreds of deep-sea buoys and sensors employed by the $368 million Ocean Observatories Initiative had drawn congressional and international backlash.

“Effective immediately, NSF will not proceed with further removal or descoping of equipment from the remaining arrays and will continue operations including planned maintenance,” the agency said in a statement on Thursday. The plan’s reversal was first reported by the New York Times.

On Monday 11 U.S. Senators sent a bipartisan letter saying that dismantling the ocean system “threatens the safety of our coastal communities,” as well as jeopardizing oceans research. A bill blocking the removal plan in the Senate on Wednesday. ...

170O POUND GREAT WHITE SHARK TRACKED - FLORIDA TO NORTH CAROLINA : HE'S NAMED "CONTENDER"

CBS NEWS : 1700 POUND SHARK TRACKED OFF COAST OF NORTH CAROLINA 

Excerpt:

Sharks don't ping every day. Their movements are tracked by devices attached to their dorsal fins. The trackers can't transmit through water, OCEARCH senior data scientist John Tyminski said in a video published by the organization. To accurately confirm a shark's location, the tracker must break the surface while an Argos satellite is above. The satellites are only in a given spot for about 13 minutes. During that time, the tracker must send multiple messages for a location to be confirmed.

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HILTON HEAD BEACHED SPERM WHALE : WHALE HELP

ISLAND PACKET :HILTON HEAD BEACHED SPERM WHALE

Excerpt: Like the beached whale on Hilton Head Island, live whales usually only beached themselves if they’re sick, injured, or in otherwise poor health. One common cause of sickness is when the whale ingests marine debris, especially plastic. Whales can get entangled in fishing gear or get struck by boats. Sperm whales are an endangered species, and about four of them strand themselves on beaches across the Atlantic coast per year. George said there has been some increase in the number of whales washing up over the years, but it’s not known whether that’s due to an increase in sperm whale populations or an increase to the threats they face. Lentz said the average person can help endangered whales by making conscientious choices about the food they eat and the products the buy, and picking up their garbage on the beach.

If you see a stranded or injured marine animal, do not push it back into the ocean, as biologists say it will likely wash up again somewhere else. Instead, call (877) WHALE-HELP to report the animal to the National Marine Fisheries Service.